Flashback is a device by which a work

Flashback is a device by which a work presents material that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work. Flashback is a method of returning to an earlier time in the story for the purpose of making something in the present more clear. Various methods are used for this including…recollections of characters, direct narration by the characters, dream sequences, daydreams, etc.

An allusion is an indirect reference to a familiar person, place, or event (particularly from literature, history, the Bible, or a famous movie, etc. ) that the writer expects the reader to recognize. When used effectively, it helps the reader call up certain associations that clarify or enrich the writer’s meaning. Examples: Don’t be such a Scrooge! (Dickens’s famous miser) Looking at his schedule, he realized he had Math with Hitler. (Nazi Germany leader) The new boss was our savior. (Jesus Christ) Our relationship is like the Titanic. (The ship that sank)

An allegory is, basically, an extended metaphor. The author wants to tell a story which everyone can understand by using symbolic characters, actions, images, etc. Examples: Animal Farm = The Russian Revolution and Stalin’s dictatorship Bioshock = A criticism of Ayn Rand’s libertarian philosophy Hunger Games = Parallels between our society’s obsession with reality TV and political division between rich and poor Avatar = The invasion of native lands by whites, the exploitation of poor workers and their environment

This is the conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work. It is usually indicated by “quotations marks” in books, speech bubbles in comics, and is spoken in films.